As You Were
by AuroraSpace
Summary: In season 4 Pictures of You, Bonnie hasn't just given Elena an extremely painful migraine but sent her back to the past to none others than our favorite Originals.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer**: I own none of the character of TVD._

_A special thank you goes to **Angel of Darkness Forever** for amazing beta work!_

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**Prologue**

One second, she was in Damon's arms after Bonnie tortured her with her witchy powers and now, Elena was laying in a forest surrounded by darkness. The environment wasn't familiar at all to her. She slowly picked herself up, while observing her surroundings more keenly. She heard men shouting in the distance. It seemed as though they were frantically searching for something. She dusted off her dress as much as possible, before turning in the direction she heard most of the voices coming from.

At the moment, Elena decided that it was her best choice of finding help so she started in their direction. But something was strange, they moved a lot faster than humans. This started to look like a not so brilliant idea. Before she could run away, they found her.

Elena counted six, they all wore strange cloth like they were playing dress up for a decade party. After a moment two other joined them. She sensed their slower than human heartbeats and scrunched up her nose is annoyance. _Great, a bunch of vampires._

Elena didn't pay attention to the newcomers, while trying to figure out how to get out of the situation.

"You can't run away from us, Katerina." Elena recognized a familiar voice which was deceptively soft and caused a shiver to run down her spine.

Elena turned her gaze toward the man who just spoke and to her astonishment she really saw him, there was no mistaking that charismatic, handsome face. Elijah freaking Mikaelson was standing a few feet away from her with long wavy hair almost reaching his shoulders and the same kind of clothing the other men wore, although his was made of seemingly more expensive material.

She was flabbergasted. She tried to take in every detail about him. Finally, Elena looked directly into his dark brown eyes, when their eyes connected she felt like she was punched in the gut. This Elijah didn't look at her with warmness, and quite frankly, he scared Elena. She was never this afraid of him, not even the first time they met, yet he allured her.

"You got to be kidding me." Elena could only gape before she exclaimed her frustration.

Elijah was watching Katerina intently; his posture tense, his eyes sharp, and his jaw tight as a small, cold smile graced his lips. But something was not right, her reaction was nothing like he thought it would be when they finally caught her. A calculating look took hold of his regal features while his attention turned from her face to take in her more thoroughly; her hair, her attire was completely different than what she wore at dinner, then he noticed her heartbeat which beat with the slow rhythm of a vampire.

Before Elijah could say another word, one of his servants jumped her. She was tackled to the ground. Elijah came out of his stupor and quickly plunged his hand in and tore out his heart through his back. He could not stand disobedience, and he did not give any order of attacking this woman. He was also annoyed that his man couldn't notice that the woman in front of them was a young vampire. There were very few things which disturbed him as much as incompetence and lack of observational skills.

Elena showed the now dead vampire off of her. Suddenly a hand was in front of her, offering to help her stand up. Elena looked up at the owner of said hand to find Elijah's gaze again, it was no longer cruel and cold. Instead, his eyes expressed his curiosity. She put her delicate hand in his larger, calloused one and let him help her up from the moist forest ground.

"Let me introduce myself, I am Elijah." Elijah started in his smooth velvety voice while he waited for the girl before him to do the same.

"Oh, I'm El…" Elena cut herself off, contemplating if she should answer him or not. As her surprise started to wear off and her brain began to function at a normal speed again she considered what she should tell him.

From the state of things, it was obvious that she somehow ended up in the past. Elena remembered a lot of things from the movies she watched with Matt long ago, but if she was correct she didn't have much of a choice in who she could turn to.

Elijah waited patiently for the girl to answer, while he observed from the corner of his eyes his servants behavior. They were confused and tense, not so surprising after he killed their captain. He heard the girl release a sigh that indicated she had come to some kind of decision. Still holding her hand in his, Elijah focused all of his attention back again to her.

"My name is Elena Gilbert."

Elijah brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles gently, his gaze intense. Elena shivered at his actions. The small smile playing at one side of his lips as he straightened himself was not reassuring for her at all, and he still hold onto her hand, making it crystal clear that she wasn't going anywhere.

One of the soldiers decided to approach the couple. His Lord just executed his brother for doing his duty because the wench acted a little strangely. He didn't believe one word leaving Katerina Petrova's mouth.

"My Lord?" He asked while he grabbed Katerina's other wrist tightly.

Elena turned towards the vampire who caught her left wrist, if she was human his grip would have been quite painful but alas, it just annoyed her to no end. Before Elena could wrench out her hand from his grip, she felt Elijah letting her go to seize the man's throat.

"Let go of her." Elijah commanded. His servant reluctantly obeyed and released her.

"But My Lord,…" Before he could finish his complaint Elijah tore out his heart and let him drop to the ground before his feat. He was quite displeased with his men behavior, then he turned his cold gaze to the others.

"I do not recall giving permission to you to question me." Elijah looked each of them in the eyes, none of them able to hold his gaze.

"You have always had a penchant for tearing hearts out." Elena quipped, as she felt her confidence rising.

Elijah turned back towards her, smirking a little. It was obvious that the girl knew about some of his habits. The question was, how much did she really know? Her behavior and the manner she spoke in was also odd, to say the least. He sensed her fear before, but it was too mild. Actually, all of the emotions coming from her were too mild.

"You are not just a vampire though, are you?" Elijah said his thoughts out loud. He cocked his head slightly to the side as he approached her again. "You have abandoned your emotions."

Elena couldn't help it and burst out laughing.

Elijah just looked at the girl, _Elena_ he amended in his mind, confused. He didn't think that he said something funny. At his prompting gaze Elena elaborated, still chuckling a little.

"You said almost exactly the same thing to me before." Elena said with a mischievous smile on her lips.

Elijah quickly analyzed the situation. It was obvious that her appearance was the result of some kind of spell. However, they needed a human doppelganger. He again turned his attention to his men.

"Continue the search for Katerina." Elijah ordered.

Before they could leave, Elena piped in again. "If I were you, I'd look for her in Rose's home."

Elijah saw Trevor tense at her sentence, interesting.

"Another thing Elijah," Elena continued in a slightly vindictive voice. "I wouldn't send Trevor."

Elijah knew that she was telling him the truth. With each word out of her lips, his suspicion about someone betraying them and helping Katerina escape became surer. At her last sentence, he grabbed Trevor, before he could make an attempt to escape, and throw him at two of the vampires to hold him down.

"Take him back." Elijah addressed them, before turning to the remaining two to give them their instructions. "Go to Rose, search her house and the nearby territories."

As Elijah finished his instructions, his men bowed to him before they left at vampire speed.

Elena started to feel slightly uncomfortable as they were left alone. She has always known that Elijah was dangerous, but this Elijah exuded raw power and danger in waves. He reminded her more of the ultimate predator than a gentleman.

As he walked toward Elena, she needed to fight hard to keep from fidgeting under his intense gaze. He invaded her personal space before he stopped.

"It would please me, if you could accompany me to my home." Despite his polite way of asking, Elena recognized an order when she heard one. This could only go in two ways, she was going with him of her own free will, or he would drag her.

Elena frowned as she bit into her lower lip, she didn't like this one bit, but she didn't have much choice. She looked up directly into Elijah's eyes as she answered.

"Alright." Elena shrugged her shoulders and waited for him to start to lead the way.

Elijah slightly narrowed his eyes at her nonchalance and tone, but for the moment leaved the matter alone. He'd have time to correct her behavior when she was under his roof. While he liked a spirited woman, he did not approve of this kind of conduct in his presence.

"This way." Elijah gestured in one direction. "The castle isn't far away." He stated, before placing his right hand at the small of her back to guide her. Elena scowled in annoyance at his touch, which left a tingling feeling even through the layers of her clothes. With a reluctant sigh, she let him lead her away.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer_**_: I own none of the character of TVD._

_I don't know what I would do without __**Angel of Darkness Forever**__! Thank You!_

_Now, I need to thank everyone who R&R'd, favorited and followed this fic. You guys are amazing!_

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**Chapter 1**

It took almost half an hour, in vampire speed, to reach the house Elijah spoke, and Elena couldn't really call it a house because it was an actual castle, a very old stone one at that. She saw guards at the side of the enormous entrance doors, they were clearly vampires. The doors were opened for them and she found herself at courtyard where there were even more soldiers and servants. She'd have never imagined that the Originals employed this many.

Elijah noticed that his companion was observing every detail of his and his sibling's home. He saw the surprise on her face most likely due to their grandiose home and servants. It was a well-known fact that they were one of the richest nobles of England with numerous titles in their families possession. Wherever this girl came from she should be aware of this as a vampire, even more so as she was also a doppelganger.

They finally arrived to the chambers where the family greeted their guests and held audiences. Niklaus was pacing in front of the huge fireplace, his whole being radiating anger and frustration. His head snapped in the new comers direction. Elena was surprised he didn't get whiplash even if he was a vampire. However, the sadistic, overly pleased smile appearing on Klaus's face was nothing new to Elena. She eagerly anticipated his reaction when he realized she wasn't Katherine. She was almost bouncing on her feet.

Elena also noticed the massive dark wood table in the center of the room. Two of the chairs were occupied by Kol and Rebekah. Fantastic, Elena thought sarcastically, she got all four of them to deal with.

"Don't be so smug, Klaus." Elena started before Elijah could open his mouth. She saw in her peripheral vision that Elijah was not pleased that she spoke up. She just sent a smirk his way, which may have resembled Damon's too much, then looked each of the Originals in the eyes. "I'm not Katherine."

Beside Elijah, all of the Originals froze in surprise as the girl before them started to shed her outer cloak and revealed a very strange pinkish dress. Rebekah couldn't help but admire the exquisite color and material of it, but the cut was even stranger than the color. Plus this girl wore in her hair a streak that matched her dress.

It took them a few minutes, before they were able to register her words and that she was a vampire. She didn't display any kind of fear in their presence, just curiously observed the chamber they were in.

Klaus sped in front of the doppelganger, with his right hand he took hold of her jaw to be able to look into her mocking eyes. He growled menacingly at the realization that this was clearly a vampire before him, who was young but not hours old. He locked his light blue eyes on her chocolate ones to compel her.

"Tell me what happened girl!" Klaus ordered, while the girl's eyes only got more delighted at his frustration.

"Sorry, I'm on vervain." Elena quipped. "You need to ask the nice way, Klaus. And maybe, I will answer your questions."

Elijah only shook his head in exasperation. Elena clearly enjoyed agitating his brother. Rebekah also stood up and came closer to them.

"It is quite enough, Niklaus." Elijah placed his left hand on his brother shoulder to calm him somewhat. "The lady is Miss Elena Gilbert. You can let her go, it is obvious that she is not Katerina."

Kol just snorted at his brothers behavior. Nik was moments away from snapping the girls neck in a fit of temper.

"Or, she is lying." Rebekah said, her face showing the disdain she felt.

"Or, she is telling the truth." Elena turned her eyes to Rebekah, as she wasn't able to move her head because of Klaus's grip on her jaw. This whole situation started to lose its entertainment value rather quickly. "She maybe had enough of being continuously confused with the lying, scheming bitch."

Elena felt Klaus grip slacken at her words and easily danced out of his hold. She couldn't help laughing at their reactions to her words.

"Well, she is definitely not the peasant girl." Kol sent a smirk to this mysterious vampire. His curiosity picked. He had never met a woman who dared to speak like her. He approached her like he would a prey he was intent on seducing before devouring. "As my older brother left his manners in the woods, I will introduce myself…"

Elena didn't let the youngest male Original finish his sentence. "Kol Mikaelson."

The Originals were stunned even more as they haven't used their real names in at least a few decades. Elijah gathered his scattered thoughts.

"We should sit down to converse more civilly." Despite the tone, Elena heard the command loud and clear. What surprised her was that Rebekah, Klaus and Kol obeyed it. They went to sit at the table leaving the head and the seat on it's right vacante for her and Elijah to fill.

If Elena wouldn't be in the past, clearly at the night of Katherine's escape, she'd find the whole situation hilarious. She shrugged, walking over to the empty seat between Rebekah and Elijah, she was directly across from Klaus whose left side was taken up by Kol.

"Okay, before you could ask." Elena wasn't in the mood for questioning. She needed their help to get back into her time, so she would tell what was necessary. "Once upon a time, there was a girl who was a dead ringer of Katerina Petrova and so piqued the interest of vampires. She was kidnapped by two vampires, you may know them Rose and Trevor, to negotiate a pardon for their betrayal of the Originals by aiding Katerina Petrova. They wanted to hand her over to Elijah but their plans were thwarted by the girl's friends."

Elena saw that they wanted to interrupt her, but she didn't give them the chance.

"Although, she escaped that time, her problems were not over as news of her existence reached Klaus. Who came into her hometown to break the curse put on him by his mother to prevent him becoming a true hybrid. Klaus killed a werewolf, the girl's aunt, who was turned into a vampire because of the sacrifice, and the girl."

Elena scowled at the triumphant look on Klaus's face.

"Whose blood turned you?" Kol interjected in the lull of the story. He wasn't familiar with most of the terms the girl used, but the meaning came across loud and clear.

"I wasn't turned because of the sacrifice, that came later." Elena decided to reveal this much. She didn't think that particular information was too sensitive. "As for who? None of your business."

"So, what you are implying that the curse will be broken in the future with _you_ as the doppelganger in the focal point." Elijah summarized with a slight frown, displaying his confusion.

"Ten points for Elijah." Elena mocked with a smirk on her face.

Suddenly, Elena cried out as she felt a burning pain in her right hand as Kol nailed her hand to the table with a dagger.

"Watch your tongue, woman." Kol threatened in a cold unforgiving voice, his hand still on the dagger. "We do not have to endure your insolence."

Elena's eyes grew in surprise. She didn't think that they'd do something like this. She was even more astonished that Elijah hadn't interfered; he just sat coolly. Kol twisted the dagger once before wrenching it out the most painful way. He lifted the bloodied blade to his mouth to lick her blood off. Elena felt slightly nauseous. She also realized that these were not the vampires she interacted with in the past, or future depending on your viewpoint. They were all rawer, more predatory.

It was a huge mistake on her part to shove her earlier observation on Elijah's behavior to the back of her mind. They were totally different from what she was used to. Rebekah behaved quite demure and ladylike, while her brothers were more aggressive. The most interesting was that Klaus wasn't the boss, like he always seemed to be. Instead, he deferred to Elijah.

Elijah waited for the girl to apologize for her poor conduct. He was not pleased at all. It seemed they would need a different approach. He slowly stood up, going over to her. Finally, he saw her fear of them. He placed a deceptively gentle hand on her arm to help her up from her seat, before spinning her around and imprisoning her in his arms, her back to his front. Elijah felt her delicate curves pressing against him as with one hand he caressed her bare collarbone, her skin like silk under his fingers.

"I do not know what was acceptable in your life, but here you do as we say and show us the respect we deserve as your elders." Elijah delighted in her shivers of fear. He was a predator, even if most of the time he behaved like the gentleman the times demanded of him as a noble.

"Now, elaborate on what you previously said without further sass." Elijah whispered into her ear softly before placing her back into her seat. He let her gather herself from her shock, signaling to his siblings to be patient.

Elena has never felt anything like this, she was truly shaken by what transpired in the last couple of minutes; correction hours. She had also no choice, if she wanted to get back to her time alive.

"I don't know what it is safe to tell you." Elena croaked out. "I came from the future and I have no idea what would happen if I told you too much."

Elijah nodded, then reclaimed his seat. They should tread very carefully.

"Rebekah," Elijah decided to have some help before going any further with this highly disturbing conversation. "Please, fetch Sergei."

Without any fuss, Rebekah stood, curtsied slightly to Elijah and vanished from the room. Elena couldn't even wrap her mind around what was happening before Rebekah was already back with a tall, brown haired man.

The man bowed to the males at the table, waiting for instructions.

"Sergei, we have a little problem." Klaus started the anger obvious in his tone. "The lady is not our Katerina, but her doppelganger from the future. We want to know how she ended up here, and what does she possibly know."

Elijah knew that their warlock was surprised, but as a good servant, didn't ask anything just went out of the room to fetch the things he needed. He saw Elena was growing even more uncomfortable, but this lesson would serve her well. He could be very kind to her, or punish her. The choice was in her hands.

Elena heard the man entering again. She looked in his direction; he carried a bowl which held water and some kind of herbs. He placed it in front of her then dipped his fingers into it; and without even asking for permission stepped behind her placing his wet fingertips to her temples. Elena felt a searing pain in her mind as pictures moved too quickly to comprehend behind her eyelids. She thought it took forever, before the pain receded. She was panting in her seat, completely wiped out from the experience.

Elena couldn't make out the words, but she assumed that the warlock was telling his masters what he found in her mind. Slowly, she regained her senses.

"… the spell that sent her here prevents me of sending her back to the place she belongs for 25 years."

"What?" Elena couldn't help her outburst. This didn't sound encouraging_, at all_.

Sergei continued his report without paying any attention to the vampire doppelganger. "However, I wasn't able to take a lot of information from her mind. I can only tell that she is very far from our time, she hasn't lied so far and she has met all of the Originals, My Lord."

Elijah contemplated his options. "Could you get more, if you would try a more powerful spell?"

"No, My Lord. The spell protects her from forcefully taking knowledge of her." Sergei shook his head in denial. He saw the disappointment in his masters' and mistress's forms.

"Find out everything you can about this spell, the possible consequences of her presence and Katerina's whereabouts. Thank you." Elijah looked before himself, deep in thought. "Leave us."

Sergei bowed to the each member of the family he served then leaved. Elena couldn't believe it. They practically raped her mind and none of them uttered even a small apology, when a few moments ago they were so serious about manners. She was silently fuming, as it wasn't wise to speak freely before.

Elijah was aware of Niklaus's anger and disappointment at the situation. Katerina vanished who knows where, and they had a young vampire on their hands from the future. This was not ideal; it was very far from it. Rebekah already despised the girl on principal and Kol was also angry at her. But they couldn't let her go. Finally, he turned his penetrating gaze on the girl.

"You will stay with us." Elijah informed her with a neutral expression. "I am not sure in what capacity you will hold in our court, but for the next few days you will be treated like an honored guest."

Before Elena could interrupt him, Elijah waved a hand to silence her. "You will uphold the rules we set for you and will not try to escape. Because of the unique situation, I am going to be patient with you. However, I expect you to show us respect."

Elena could only gape at him. She looked around the table's occupants; they all expected her to fall in line with their demands without any protest. Switch or not, Elena started to feel an astronomical amount of frustration and anger.

"You can't be serious." Elena burst out. "I'm not some brainless idiot who you tell jump and I will ask how high!"

Elena shook in her anger; she couldn't stay in her seat for a moment longer. She leveled her most murderous gaze at Elijah, but it seemed her actions had no impact.

"You have a lot of courage, I will give you that." Kol observed their "guest". "But you are dependent on our good will. It would be wise, if you'd yield to your new status."

Elena huffed in frustration. She was too tired and angry for further arguments, this was going to nowhere. She decided to bide her time.

"Alright, I'll try to be a good girl." Elena mentally rolled her eyes at this.

Elijah assessed the girl's honesty; she wasn't happy with them but was clever enough to know when to fight a matter. This was not reassuring.

"What time did you come from?" Klaus asked, showing his interest. Though, it was obvious to all of them, that he just wanted to know when he'd break the curse.

All of the Originals tried to hide their curiosity, but Elena saw through them. She shouldn't reveal too much, but to hell with it all.

"I was born in 1992, and when I turned I was 18." Elena saw their astonishment. Kol and Rebekah didn't try to hide their emotions as much as their older brothers. "Now, my turn. What year did I end up?"

"We write the year of 1492." Rebekah was the one who answered, so Elena turned towards her.

"Wow…" She knew that Katherine was around five hundred years old; but this was mind boggling. "Probably my definition of host is gappy, but you usually offer some kind of sustenance to your guests."

"Gappy?" Kol asked for clarification. The girl used too many words that they didn't understand.

"Deficient, imperfect, cracked, incomplete, scant…" Elena started to list the synonyms that came into her mind. She also tried to tone down the sarcasm, but it was hard.

"What does our guest desire?" Elijah asked in a much lighter voice than before.

"B positive." Elena replied, immediately perking up. She sat straighter in her seat; impatiently waiting for their response, before realizing that they had no idea what she was talking about. "Sorry, I'd like some blood."

They all stared at the young vampire.

"What is B positive?" Elijah asked, before signaling to Rebekah to ring for some dinner. They could all use the soothing effect of a full stomach.

Elena tracked Rebekah's movements to the side of the fireplace, where she pulled on a string twice. She heard Klaus clear his throat, waiting for her answer.

"It's a blood type." At their confused expression, Elena tried to explain the concept. "In my time, they classify one's blood type after certain qualities. You must have noticed that some blood is tastier than others for each of you. That is because you prefer one blood type to another."

Elena has never seen the Originals paying so much attention to what she had to tell them.

"The easiest example I can think up, that some people like chicken, others lamb. This is the same for vampires."

Kol was very interested in the topic as they were all very particular about what they eat. That was the reason they kept their blood slaves so well and healthy.

Elena heard a lot of people nearing the room they were in. She turned her gaze to the doors as they opened and six people came in, there were three women and three men. Five of them were wearing very loose robes; she could only compare them to very old fashioned nightgowns which were laced until their navels. The sheer material left almost nothing to the imagination. The last man wore a similar garment to the ones she saw in the woods with Elijah. He stopped beside the door.

"Oh, we are drinking from humans." Elena felt like an idiot. She knew they were drinking directly from the vein, she enjoyed the fresh blood too; but still it was not the norm for vampires in her time if they wanted to stay under the radar.

Beside Elijah, they all looked at her a little incredulously. Elijah was only curious what way did she feed, if not from humans. He couldn't imagine her drinking from animals.

"Is there another way for dining, Miss Elena?" Elijah inquired without the judging his siblings displayed at the notion of not feeding from humans.

"Actually yes, we have blood bags." Elena saw the frown on all of their faces. This was harder than she imagined. They lacked the concepts and basic information she took for granted. "The blood banks and hospitals store the blood in a special way that allows it to not to go bad."

The five human stood before the fireplace in a straight line, as they waited for their masters to call forward them. The conversation they were hearing was very confusing. The Lady, who was the guest of the castle for months now, and from whom the whole household needed to keep a secret of the true nature of their masters, were sitting with them while they prepared to dine.

"I think we will hear a lot of interesting things from you." Elijah finished the conversation, because he could see and feel how hungry Elena was. He beckoned the servants to join them. He smirked with his siblings at Elena's surprise as one of the man kneeled down close to her and offered his neck.

The Originals didn't hesitate to bite into their respective dinners. Elijah, Kol and Klaus made the women sit in their laps while bending their neck a little to bite into them and still be able to observe Elena. Rebekah just brought the other man's wrist to her mouth before biting down on it hard.

As the smell of fresh blood assaulted Elena's sensitive nose, she didn't waited anymore and also bit into the neck offered to her so enticingly. She was aware, they were all observing her. She drunk deeply, before long she heard the slowing of the man's heartbeat and cut her index finger with her nail and offered it to the man.

Elijah was completely mesmerized by her vampiric visage and the way she took the blood. He was surprised at the discreet way she healed her victim. His brothers and sister were already finished, their dinner's unconscious on the floor at their feet. He also released the woman from his grasp and let her slide to the floor too.

Kol and Klaus were too taken by the sight the young vampire presented to them. She was magnificent. Rebekah just scowled at the girl and her brothers. They were already too interested in the girl and not in a purely business way.

Elena finally let go of the man, retrieving her finger from his mouth a moment later. She waited for him to start to heal before sending him away with a wave of her hand.

"What?" Elena asked at the intense gazes directed her way. It was a little disturbing that she saw traces of lust in all of the male Originals faces.

"Why did you heal him? He is just nourishment." Klaus started to see their guest in a totally different way. She was an enigma. He was disappointed because of the loss of Katerina, but this girl seemed to be more valuable. And Sergei told them, that he turned into a hybrid with this girl's aid in the future. He could be patient, until then he had at least two and a half decades to decipher her every secret.

"Snatch, eat, erase." Elena shrugged, before leaning back into her chair. "Killing someone has a lot more consequences in the future. Compulsion isn't a key to solve everything."

Elena yawned behind her hand. She hoped, they'd finish their questioning soon. This was a too long day and all she wanted to do was sleep.

Elijah would have liked to keep up the conversation, but Elena was already half asleep after eating. "We shall retire."

Kol and Klaus wanted to protest, but one glance from their brother silenced them. They'd wait until the girl rested.

"Good night." Elena said as she followed after Elijah, leaving the table and eventually the room behind.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer**__: I own none of the character of TVD._

I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing!

_Special thanks to my Amazing Beta_ **_Angel of Darkness Forever._**

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**Chapter 2**

The almost full moon casted its bright light through the window, highlighting the young vampire's form to perfect clarity, as she slept on in the right side of the huge four-poster bed. At the foot of the bed, Elijah leaned against the post with his shoulder, while gazing intently at Miss Elena Gilbert.

She completely cocooned herself in the duvet, her hair a dark halo against the white pillow her head rested upon. She left the nightshift Rebekah loaned her at his request on the chair before the fireplace thus leaving her upper body, long graceful neck and shoulders tantalizingly bare. The thought of her sleeping nude under the covers presented a very welcome image in his mind. He smiled a little; she didn't even sense that someone was in the room with her, sleeping like an innocent child without any worry for the next day.

Elijah grinned, pushing himself away from the post, slowly strolling on the side of the bed, his right hand a few centimeters from the contours of the sleeping body, a caress without touching.

Everything turned out most convenient for him. When Katerina escaped, he had been sure that his brother disappointment and paranoia would make a rift in their relationship as Niklaus thought he was responsible for the doppelganger's flight. Elena's appearance mollified Niklaus that he would get what he so desired; he just needed to be patient. Furthermore, it was something of tremendous value. The few things, she has already shared about the future, were most interesting. She was a treasure trove of information.

However, Elijah didn't take into consideration, it had never crossed his mind, that the girl would be so willful, outspoken and lacking any demureness that was expected from women. This was most likely the result of her coming from the future. He also noticed that she didn't show deference to men, while she gave the gift of healing to her dinner. He and his siblings didn't make a habit of killing their dinners in their own home, but have no qualms about draining them to unconsciousness and leaving the tending to their other servants. What were the terms she used? Ah yes, _snatch, eat erase_. It was an interesting method. When they felt like hunting, and they loved hunting, they always killed their prey in the end.

Elijah was pretty sure Elena would be an endless source of entertainment and frustration. He also took notice that she hadn't even blinked when Kol showed her his displeasure, or when Niklaus grabbed her. She had expected violence from his siblings and had only felt very little fear. But, when he corrected her, she shivered from it in his arms. This led him to the conclusion, that she wasn't used to his treatment of her. What kind of association would his future self have with this girl to make her turn to him for protection against his siblings?

Elijah heard his youngest brother entering. Kol came to his side. Elijah saw him observing the girl from the corner of his eye. He noticed his brothers' desire for her as they watched her feeding, and he was forced to admit that he had been affected too.

None of them had bedded Katerina, because of the past and her role in the ritual. They hadn't needed the complication that it could have caused. But this girl was an altogether different case. They had learned how to share in the centuries. Yes, there were a few exceptions, when they decided to take official mistresses. But generally it hadn't bothered them when one of their siblings also enjoyed the carnal pleasures of one of their previous partners. Neither of them was interested in women or men besides what they could gain from them. In the nobility, the families often used each other for political or financial gain through their daughters or sons. As the head of the family, he has been contacted often enough for marriage proposals for himself and his siblings by nobles.

"She is more magnificent than her predecessors." Kol's words brought back Elijah from his thoughts. Elijah wholeheartedly agreed with this statement, even though they had met her only hours ago.

"Do you wish to take her for yourself, or you could be persuaded to share, Brother?" Kol turned his gaze away from the sleeping beauty to observe his brother's reactions. Despite previous experiences with Tatia, Elijah had developed a soft spot for Katerina, and he wasn't sure how far his oldest brother's plans went with Elena.

Kol was bored with women as they didn't present any challenge. They parted their thighs too easily. Maybe he was too accomplished in the art of seduction, but he had a feeling that this vampiress from the future would present a much needed, interesting challenge. So, he eagerly waited for Elijah's response. When he spotted the devious smile in the corner of Elijah's lips he had his answer, and let the joy show on his face.

"Thank you, brother." Kol dipped his head slightly in respect and turned back to observe the sleeping form. He felt himself stir at the thought of sharing her bed, invading her body.

The girl stirred and the brothers tensed at the motion, waiting if she would awaken or not. But Elena only just turned on her other side, a small sigh leaving her lips. The brothers grinned at each other. Elijah signaled with his head that they should leave her side.

_**-o-o-o-o-o-**_

In Elijah's study, they sat down in the armchairs before the grand stone fireplace, a goblet of fine wine in their hands.

"So, are we going to seduce her together or separately?" Kol couldn't keep the giddiness out of his voice. It wasn't the first time he planned something like this with one of his brothers or actually all of them. Even as humans, they had their more than fair share of women and men. As every warrior, they enjoyed the release a woman's body could provide after a battle. After turning into vampires, their need for carnal pleasures also grew. Every sensation, every pleasure had magnified to glorious heights.

"I think we should approach her separately for the time being." Elijah answered, making Kol pay attention to their conversation again.

"We don't know anything about her beyond being completely different from any women we have ever met." Elijah continued to state his observation while sipping his wine between sentences.

"Yes, her insolence knows no bounds." Kol growled his own observation. He was not used to being spoken to so disrespectfully, but this trait of hers was making her an interesting enigma.

Elijah chuckled. "She has quite a fire inside, despite abandoning her emotions."

Kol whipped his head towards his brother's direction from his previous gazing into the fire. "She suppresses her humanity? I hadn't noticed."

Elijah nodded, before in a thoughtful tone answered. "She confirmed it to me when we met in the woods."

Kol noticed the mirthful smile playing on his brother's face. This was a most peculiar expression, he hasn't seen in a long time. But he didn't ask for further elaboration, Elijah would have shared if he wanted to.

"Then with time, we need to persuade her to feel again. I am interested in her real personality." Kol stated. If nothing achieved this goal with time, they could always compel her. The vervain would be out of her system in a few days.

"I have never encountered a vampire who ingested vervain." Kol jumped to the next interesting bit about their new project.

Elijah was very deep in thought about that detail. He didn't like the meaning of this, because if one vampire took vervain to prevent compulsion from an Original, then how many more could be doing this, and from what point on did they follow this practice.

Before they could continue, Niklaus came into the room with only his breeches and unlaced undershirt on. The smells clearly indicating that their brother has gone to the town brothel and indulged himself in blood and women.

Elijah watched him saunter over to the goblets and wine on the table before joining them with his own cup.

"What were you talking about? Please, do share." Klaus tipped his goblet while observing his siblings. They were both in too good a mood after the last day's happenings.

"We are discussing our new prey." Kol answered with his trademark smirk.

Klaus only cocked his head to the side in curiosity. It was not rare, that they planned their games together. His interests were peaked with this. Elijah seemed to be very invested in this plot and _that_ was something _incredibly rare_.

"We are going to entice the beautiful Elena to keep us warm at lonely nights." Kol's smirk only grew before he finished his wine.

Klaus found this quite an entertaining idea which he would like to participate in with great joy. His brothers were right, they should see what they could do with the vampire doppelganger from the future. He hoped that her fire was not only exclusive for conversations, but to more pleasurable activities too.

So the three brothers spent the night discussing the newest development in their lives until they retired for a few hours' sleep at sunrise.

* * *

_To my guest reviewers:_

_Jana:_ I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far. You are very spot on for a few things:) Yes, it will be a relatively long story as it has to deal with the mentioned 25 years happenings and a lot of characters.

_Guest:_ Thank you, every review brightens my day.

_Kristin:_ Thank you, I hope you like this chapter too.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Disclaimer_**_: I own none of the character of TVD._

Christmas is a time of peace and joy, and I want to give this chapter as an early present for all my readers. And a huge thank you to everyone who read, follow-ed, fave-ed and reviewed.

_Special thanks for_ _**Angel of Darkness Forever **__for going over and correcting this chapter._

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Elena was woken up from her dreams as too many people moved and whispered in her room. What the hell were they even doing in her room? She was going to kill the Salvatores. Slowly she opened her eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Last night's events quickly coming back to her.

Now, she saw the four women in her room bustling about. The oldest one, what a joke she was around her mid-twenties, caught that her eyes were open and came over to her side.

"Good morning, My Lady." She started in an irritatingly chipper voice. Elena looked at her incredulously, debating if she should just bite her for the early wake up call.

"Your water and daily dress has been prepared." She continued without a pause, not registering or paying attention to Elena's displeasure.

"What time is it?" Elena interrupted, sitting up in her bed and leveling an annoyed glance her way.

"The bell rang 7…"

"And you woke me up this early, because?" Elena scowled at her. "You know what? Don't answer that question, instead tell me this. Where can I find Elijah?"

All the women were scandalized at the Lady's behavior. They were instructed to tend to Miss Katerina's twin sister and show her the level of respect afforded to a high standing Lady by Her Ladyship. They were not ladies-in-waiting, but they have helped enough noblewomen to know their tasks perfectly. This Lady Elena behaved atrociously.

Elena saw their disapproval, but couldn't care less. She scooted to the edge of bed and stood up in her black lace bra and thong. She grinned at their expressions before throwing her coat over her body and stepping into the four inch high stilettos.

Elena was already on the corridor to track down one of the Originals before the women could even react. She sensed Elijah behind one of the doors with a few human. She knocked on the door, not waiting for a response opening it and stepping inside. It was a similar room to her own, but obviously more masculine in décor.

Elena chuckled at the humans' thunderstruck expressions, while Elijah displayed amusement without any sign of surprise on his face. Although, Elena was sure that he didn't expect her to turn up in his room while he was dressing. She didn't try to hide that she was checking him over. She has always been curious of what Elijah could hide under his expensive suits and dress-shirts, and she enjoyed his well-built torso's sight greatly. He had the body of a god. Obviously he didn't slack on his physical exercises on his human days. As Elena checked him out, she also noticed a few scars left on his torso, they were obviously before he turned, and made the Original that much more appealing to Elena.

Elijah was aware of her perusal of his body and he was pleased at her reaction. She didn't turn her head but slowly took in every inch of his upper body without any embarrassment. His valets paused in their activities at her entrance and hastily cast their gazes to the ground registering her state of undress.

However, Elijah took in every detail on display for his intense gaze. She had mile long legs, her strange doublet covering her only to mid-thigh, and wore very high heeled shoes that made her legs even more desirable. He felt his length hardening at the view.

Elena had heard the hubbub on the corridor made by the women who had disturbed her sleep. Just to scandalize them even more, Elena sauntered over to Elijah, stopping mere inches from him. She smiled in delight as she noticed Elijah's hard on which was definitely not there when she entered. She waited for him to finish his observation of her body, when their gazes met she saw that his eyes darkened in desire to an almost black color.

"Morning, Elijah." Elena started with a seductive tone just for the added entertainment value, as she noticed the girls from the corridor arrived too and were furiously blushing while trying to look anywhere but in Elijah's direction. "I thought I'd ask you, why I was given an alarm clock to wake me in goddamned 7 a.m. in the form of way too annoying girls?"

Elijah raised a brow at her, understanding that the pleasant view he was treated to, was a result of her irritation of the maids that were sent to tend to her. "They were ordered to help you get ready for the day. I was not aware that you had a habit of sleeping in."

Elena scowled at him for his slightly sarcastic tone. "No, I don't have a habit of sleeping until noon. But, I'm also not used to people barging into my room while I'm sleeping."

"Anne, go call the Lady Rebekah here." Elijah didn't take away his gaze from Elena's eyes. "The rest of you can leave."

Everyone bowed or curtsied to Elijah before leaving the couple alone. They were deeply shocked at the Lord's and his guest's behavior. A well-bred lady didn't go anywhere in a state of undress, much less into the rooms of the Lord of the Family.

Elena's frustration only grew as Elijah didn't do anything besides stare at her, likely trying to understand her problem with the whole situation. She threw her hands up. "Where I come from, we don't employ servants who barge into your room without invitation to wake you up and dress you."

Elijah stepped back from the irate brunette, grabbing his undershirt and throwing it over his head, continuing to dress himself without his valets. "Then, how do you get ready for your day?"

Elena stared at him for a moment in silence trying to calm down. She sat down on the chest before his bed, crossing her right leg over the left; giving her audience a greater glimpse of her leg.

"Let's see. I wake up, go into the shower…" Before she could finish her own sentence, Elena groaned. "You don't have showers, baths, indoor plumbing, electricity and central heating. These will be very long years."

Elijah just looked at her curiously. "I take it, that you don't cleanse yourself from a basin. As for baths, you can take one."

"Really?" Elena perked up at the prospect of that. She liked showers much more, but she could do with a bath too.

"Yes." Elijah sent her an indulgent smile. "I will inform the maid that you wish to take one. In return, I ask you to not make a fuss about the attending servants who are there to help you with your needs."

"Deal." Elena quickly replied.

They were so engrossed in their conversation and each other's company that they almost missed the knock on the door.

"Come in." Elijah said in a normal tone, realizing that his sister arrived.

Rebekah stepped into the room, prepared for something much more provocative than the picture grating her, because of Anne's disgruntled state. She thought that the servants had found the girl in her brother's bed. Nonetheless, her attire left a great deal of room for improvement. Though, the shoes were very interesting.

"How can I help you, brother?" Rebekah asked turning her attention to Elijah.

"Dear Sister, could you expound our guest's knowledge on women's morning habits and customs?" Elijah almost felt regret at his request. Elena's clothing last night was just slightly inappropriate after she took off her black doublet; but from her nonchalant behavior at the moment, he came to think that in the future they wore more revealing attire.

Elena wasn't happy with his suggestion, but she didn't really have a choice. She needed to learn and adapt to the customs of more than 500 years before her time. It was also strange that Rebekah so easily followed her brother's instructions. She most likely hasn't reached her rebellious stage yet.

Rebekah looked at the doppelganger. She despised both of her ancestors: Tatia because she played her brothers against each other, and Katerina because of her resemblance in personality to Tatia. However, she was curious about this Elena. She had great observational skills, as a woman she needed them, and the girl didn't seem to resemble anyone she has ever met.

"As you wish, brother." Rebekah turned to Elena and motioned for her to follow her.

"Before you go, I promised a bath to Miss Elena." Elijah informed his sister, while he finished dressing himself. "After you are finished, we will be waiting for you in the library to discuss how we should proceed." At his last words, he turned his gaze to Elena to make clear that he meant both of them.

_**-o-o-o-o-o-**_

Elijah entered the library a few minutes later, his brothers already there sitting in the armchairs in front of the fireplace. Both of them stood up to greet him in a proper fashion. He nodded to them and indicated that they should make themselves comfortable.

The library was his favorite room. The walls were hidden by bookshelves which reached from floor to ceiling. The specially ordered big windows here, for better lightening. The floors were covered with exotic carpets they had brought from the Ottoman Empire. On the left side wall from the door there was a huge black marble fireplace, a rarity in the world. In the center of the room, in front of the fireplace, there were comfortable armchairs with side tables, two of which his brothers occupied. Finally before the wall between two windows there was a masterfully crafted walnut desk dark with age, behind it an equally beautiful yet comfortable high backed leather chair.

"Elijah, we heard whispers of this morning's adventure with the beautiful Elena." Klaus immediately inquired. He was curious what really transpired, because the servants only spoke about Elena's highly inappropriate conduct as a lady and guest of the house.

Kol was also very interested in this topic; he even leaned forward a little in his seat.

Elijah only smirked at their curiosity. "Our lovely guest is not used to waking up to servants invading her privacy and decided that she should bring her grievances to my attention without proper clothing. We may need to order our male servants to cast down their eyes whenever Elena is around."

Both of his brothers heard the humor in Elijah's words. Admittedly, they could share with their siblings, but their temper could turn more volatile toward everyone who even just imagined coveting what they considered theirs. They certainly thought of Elena in that manner. She was theirs, she just wasn't aware of that fact for the time being.

"I heard something about her attire too. Don't hold back on us, brother." Kol chimed in the conversation too. The visual Elijah painted for them a moment later, left all of them slightly uncomfortable in their pants.

A few servants came in bringing them breakfast on trays, placing them beside their chairs. One of them silently asked where he should put Elena's. Elijah decided that she would be sitting between Niklaus and Rebekah, so he motioned towards the empty chair beside his brother.

They started a conversation about politics and business while they waited for the women, none of them touching their plates. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait for long as their keen ears picked up on the excited chatter between them. Rebekah stepped in first, completely immersed in what Elena was telling her. Elena was given one of Rebekah's dresses; it was an emerald green one with rich gold embroidery. Her hair was free of any caps or pins, the colored streak in it more at display than last night. She was very beautiful in it, but they couldn't help thinking of the vision she presented in her own dress. When they started to concentrate on the topic, their surprise was tantamount.

"Of course, it states that every person is free and has equal rights before the law."

"So women can go to academies and libraries?" Rebekah asked in complete awe.

"Yes, they can do everything that men can do. For example, the current chancellor in Germany is Angela Merker, a very intelligent woman."

"By Germany…" Rebekah didn't have to finish her question before the answer came from Elena.

"I can show you the country on a map. It would be much easier than describing it."

"I see that you get along well." Klaus interrupted them. The two were so immersed in their conversation that they didn't pay any attention to their company. They just sat down in the armchairs beside his, Rebekah sitting at his side instead of as they planned, his sister handing over the plate to Elena.

The girls seemed to be surprised by their presence, like they were coming out of their own little bubble.

"Om, good morning." Elena greeted them. She saw the amusement on Elijah's face, and the irritation on Kol's and Klaus's because they ignored them.

Elena hadn't been able to stand the quiet when Rebekah escorted her to the "_bathroom_" and started to ask questions. They had quickly gotten into the topic of how irritating men could be and she started to tell her about women rights and how things worked in the twenty-first century. This past version of Rebekah was actually likeable; she wasn't the psychotic bitch she had met in Mystic Falls.

"So, what's on today's agenda?" Elena asked to break the silence that had fallen over the room. She looked around to take in the room they were in. It was a beautiful library. She could picture herself spending a lot of time here, reading comfortably, _if_ she could read any of their books.

Elijah leaned back in his chair, his plate of fruit, meat and bread in one hand taking a slice of apple in between his fingers and placing it in his mouth. After, he started to eat his brothers followed his example.

"Wow, you actually eat human food." Elena muttered softly under her breath; intending her words to be too silent for them to hear.

"Yes, we consume human food as we need to keep up appearances." Elijah informed her with a smile while taking another bite from his plate.

"Furthermore, we enjoy fine cuisine." Kol added his own two cents. Elena realizing that his personality wouldn't change so much with time.

"As for your previous question, we will converse in an attempt to come to know you better." Klaus stated in a monotone.

To get some additional time, Elena reached for the golden goblet, _seriously_, on her tray and took a quick swallow. She almost spat out the concoction in it.

"What the hell is this?"

Her disgusted expression at the drink made Rebekah and Kol chuckle. The other two were amused too, as Elena gingerly put back the goblet on the tray.

"It is mead." Elijah explained to the disgruntled girl. She was very adorable with that frown on her face. "There is a jug of water on the desk and a few cups, if you would prefer that."

The Originals watched as Elena immediately went over to it and drink a full cup of water before pouring herself another one and reclaiming her seat with them.

They all ate silently for a while. The Originals observing Elena's every reaction to the food, they were happy that it seemed to her liking.

"Thanks, this was very delicious." Elena tried to behave as decently as possible after yesterday. Being polite with them couldn't hurt her, or she fervently hoped so.

"You are most welcome." Elijah replied while the others just nodded to her. It started to creep Elena out how politely they all behaved compared to last night. She waited for them to finish too, before addressing the elephant in the room.

"Okay, conversation time. What do you want to know? And I will need specific questions." Elena didn't see any sense in beating around the bush.

"Why did you abandon your humanity?" Rebekah started the inquisition. Her question had taken Elena slightly off kilter.

Elena turned so her gaze met with Elijah's eyes. She was curious about his reaction. "Your girlfriend killed my brother, and my sire thought it best if I turn it off before I had a complete mental breakdown."

"What is a girlfriend?" Rebekah addressed the least confusing part of Elena's sentence. She understood that Elijah was somehow connected to this girlfriend and Elena blamed her for her loss.

"Who is your sire?" The male Originals asked almost simultaneously.

Elena barely contained her laughter at their reactions. It was something very interesting. The brothers seemed bothered by her revelation of her ex-sire. Elena turned first to Rebekah.

"She is someone with whom a man is romantically involved with." Elena tried to explain the term.

"So, she is a mistress." Klaus stated their mutual conclusion.

"No. I could compare it to committed non-marital relationship." Elena didn't let Kol interrupt. "The difference is that in modern terminology a mistress is someone who you have on the side besides a wife. A girlfriend is similar to a wife with the exception of not being married. And before you ask, marriage _is not a necessity for social acceptance_ for living together and having sexual relationship with someone."

"I cannot wait for the future." Kol said with a big smile.

Elena sent a dazzling smile to Rebekah, before her next sentence. "Women can have boyfriends, which is the same as a girlfriend, just the other way. When I told you that men and women have equal rights, I meant it for every aspect for life."

Elena saw Rebekah's joy at the prospect of having the same "privileges" as men have, and the males tensing in the room at the image her words portrayed. You didn't have to be an astrophysicist to see that the brothers weren't happy with what she said. Before the clouds over their heads could get even darker, Elena continued.

"Back to your question," Elena looked into Klaus's eyes. "My sire will not be born for a few centuries, and turning off your humanity has the added side effect of destroying the bond."

Rebekah saw how much Elena enjoyed the effects of her words and messing with them while staying honest. Although, she was sure that her brothers' problem was not with the sire bond, but with the fact that none of them was her sire in the first place.

Elijah was the least delighted at her answers. He could not imagine that any of them would have let anything happen to her brother. From what she told them, it was obvious that she loved her brother. This also meant that her brother was excellent leverage material, should the need arise. It didn't make sense for him to let his "girlfriend" murder him. He wasn't sure about her meaning of mental break down, but he guessed it meant that her emotional distress was too great.

"Who has managed to entice our dear brother in as _boyfriend_?" Kol asked to lighten the mood. The mischievous glint in Elena's eyes at his question didn't bode well for Elijah.

"Her name is Katherine Pierce, a.k.a. Katerina Petrova." The younger siblings all looked at Elijah in various levels of disbelief, anger and disgust.

"Well brother, it seems that you will lose your touch." Klaus taunted his brother. It was unimaginable to him that Elijah would take a woman who once managed to deceive them. "What happened to Katerina?"

"She turned herself into a vampire and managed to evade capture by your hands for 500 years." Elena shrugged. "Did your witch tell you anything about what could have happened to her?"

"Warlock." Kol corrected her. "He conversed with the spirits last night. They told him that Katerina will show up when you are sent back to your time. He couldn't tell us more. But he has strict orders to find everything that could have happened with Katerina and the specific consequences of the spell that resulted in your delightful company for us."

Elena quickly composed herself. "Well, next question?"

Elena was quizzed for the whole day and well into the night. Servants came sometimes to bring them blood, in human form, and normal food, otherwise leaving them alone. They only managed to cover the most basic things because of lack of knowledge in what both parties thought on as trivial. They didn't even touch on the supernatural aspect of Elena's life beside that first question. However, she was sure that tomorrow they'd discuss it in detail. It seemed, the Originals wanted to ease her into answering their questions. If they thought, they could manipulate her so easily, they had another thing coming, was Elena's thoughts as she headed for her bed.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Disclaimer_**_: I own none of the character of TVD._

I want to thank everyone who read, follow-ed and reviewed.

_Special thanks for_ _Angel of Darkness Forever for being an amazing Beta._

* * *

**Chapter 4**

The next day, Elena was awakened by Rebekah who wore a very heavy and rich dressing gown, while the servants were instructed to wait at the door until Rebekah waved for them to enter. The girls agreed that they would go to the bathing chamber together, as Rebekah found the thought of having a bath every day a pleasurable thought.

Elena could imagine what the servants thought about all the extra work. But she wasn't willing to sacrifice her hygiene.

It was already past nine when the girls arrived to the library. The heavy rain made sure that they would again spend the day indoors.

Elena was surprised that the brothers weren't alone in the library. They seemed to have a guest, a middle aged man in very heavy and expensive robes with a lot of jewelry. Elena wanted to leave as she wasn't comfortable in the era. Plus, she wasn't appropriately attired as Rebekah pointed out when they got ready for the day. She just found the clothes and undergarments all very uncomfortable. So she washed her lingerie last night in a bowl with soap and let them dry before the fireplace on a chair. She has also asked for one of Elijah's undershirts to sleep in, as it seemed more comfortable than the outrageous gowns they called nightdresses.

Before Elena and Rebekah could leave, the guest noticed their presence. Elijah sighed in annoyance without the man hearing it. He had no inclination to introduce Thomas Howard to Elena or Rebekah.

"Your Grace, allow me to introduce my dear sister Rebekah and my adored wife Elena." Elijah introduced. He saw Elena's complete surprise at his words. Fortunately, Elena quickly composed herself and Howard hadn't had time to notice her initial reaction. The old bastard was too preoccupied by ogling Elena.

Klaus and Kol despised Howard too, and were very aware that he often blackmailed beautiful, young women into his bed. He used any method necessary, if a woman caught his attention. Of course, if he would have tried something with either woman present, he would be in a very big surprise. They were sure that Rebekah would tear him apart and Elena would also retaliate in some way. However, they needed the disgusting human because of his political connections. They weren't happy with Elijah's solution, but it afforded the greatest protection to Elena. No one could go after her as Elijah's wife. And Rebekah, as their sister enjoyed the protection of three brothers of very high standing.

Elijah has gone over to the girls with Niklaus. His brother escorting Rebekah before the Duke and he stayed at Elena's side, seemingly worrying about her health.

"Elena, observe what Rebekah is doing and try to duplicate it." Elijah whispered to Elena, while gently caressing her left hand which was placed in his left palm, and he embraced her waist with his right arm.

"Your wife, seriously?" Elena exclaimed shocked and a little pissed off.

The vampires were all very tense, until they got through the formalities with Howard. After that, Kol quickly excused himself and the women. They didn't need to risk more. They all saw, that with every word leaving Howard's mouth, Elena got angrier and angrier. It wouldn't serve their political and economical interests if Elena killed the pompous bastard.

_**-o-o-o-o-o-**_

"Why can't I snap the bastard's neck?" Elena immediately started to rant as they arrived in Elijah's study. "And what the hell was going through Elijah's mind saying that I'm his wife?"

Rebekah went to sit in one of the chairs in front of his brother's desk, while Kol stayed at the door leaning against it. Elena was pacing in the center of the room. In Kol's opinion, she was magnificent in her rage, a true goddess.

They tried to appease her by explaining the situation. Elena seemingly ignored their words for a long time, before stalking over to the chair beside Rebekah and flopped down into it.

Elena was also angry at how much she felt in the last forty-eight hours. The switch that was clearly in the off position, now seemed to malfunction. She needed to concentrate to fight down the emotions that tried to overwhelm her. If she didn't know better, she would accuse the Originals of wanting to bring back her humanity, just like her friends.

Kol must have summoned a servant when Elena wasn't paying attention to his actions because there was polite knocking on the door and a human stepped into the room with a tray that held three silver goblets and silver jug with intricate patterns. Kol sent him away after he placed his burden on the desk. Rebekah poured each of them a full goblet of wine while Kol took the chair on the table's other side.

They all drank silently. The Originals were waiting for Elena to calm down enough for a reasonable conversation. Kol noticed that she waged a battle internally, most likely with her resurfacing emotions.

"Is every noble that kind of a jerk?" Elena asked in a too neutral tone. She displayed far too much of her weaknesses in front of them as far as she was concerned. It was time for a poker face.

"I don't really understand what you are saying, but I think the core of it is that you found the 2nd Duke of Norfolk an unpleasant company." Rebekah asked for clarification, at Elena's nod she continued. "No, not every noble behaves like him. But most of them think of themselves as better than anyone else who is not on the same rank of peerage as them."

"Fantastic." The sarcasm was clear in Elena's muttering under her breath. "Why don't you compel him to forget the whole incident? It'd be easier."

"Because we can't compel every guest and their entourage. Furthermore, we need to attend court in the next month. Introducing the idea of you as Elijah's wife is just the most convenient explanation for your presence."

"What of the servants in the castle? They know that I'm not his wife." Elena rolled her eyes at Kol's response. There was something more going on here, she had no idea what but they were planning something.

"Now, they will be compelled to believe you are the Duchess." Rebekah stated flatly. She liked that for once, she had amusement at Elena's expense. Her expression of shock was priceless and it only added to her mirth that Elena clearly didn't want the title as any other women. Most women in England and Europe would happily marry into their family for the titles and riches. And the one who will be afforded it for the foreseeable future disliked the notion entirely.

"We will have to teach you the customs and etiquettes of the court-life." Kol said thoughtfully. "You will have to be able to conduct yourself as Elijah's wife next month."

Elena felt horror rise in her. She knew that she needed to learn a lot of things to be able to live in this time period, but this was too much, too quickly.

"Can't you leave me here, go to wherever you need to and then come back?" Elena desperately wanted to find a solution for this. It was a recipe for disaster to go into a royal court as a woman who was raised in the twenty-first century. She had thought that with her emotions turned off, she wouldn't have to worry this much, that she would be free to do as she pleased.

"You are not serious. You cannot believe that we would leave you behind." Kol said with a smirk. The words he didn't say loud and clear. You are a prisoner Elena, even if your prison is a mediaeval castle, and you go where your jailers go.

"I still don't understand. Why not just compel the jerk?" Elena insisted on, a frown clearly visible on her delicate features. "He was alone in a room with five vampires. And I'm sure you are not concerned about the morality of compelling someone. So why did you play the charade?"

"The Duke is on vervain." Kol shrugged as he leaned forward, placing his elbows on the desk. At Elena's incredulous look, he realized she thought they put the bastard on the herb. "We are not responsible for him indulging in the herb. Believe me, when I tell you that it is most inconvenient for us too."

"He knows about vampires." Elena nodded to herself before taking a long sip from her glass.

"No, he does not." Rebekah shook her head, drawing Elena's gaze to her. "He just enjoys its flavor in his wine."

Rebekah's look telling Elena everything about the frustration this habit caused the Originals. She almost felt like high fiving the asshole for it.

Kol felt annoyed at Elena's merriment of their predicament. He would gladly teach her a lesson on how to behave in their presence, but it seemed like Elena completely shrugged off last night's events. More bothering was that he couldn't use violence in his correcting of her, if he wanted to seduce her without compulsion. All of them decided that they would use a very gentle approach with her. Although, Rebekah was the only one so far, who seemed to warm herself to Elena.

"We should start teaching you." Rebekah announced with a tilt of her head. "Until our brothers join us, I see no reason for discussing your previous life as you would need to repeat everything."

Rebekah turned toward Kol, asking for his opinion. They were both very curious about what they could get out of Elena, but in four weeks they needed to appear at the royal court and Elena knew nothing about how to behave in front of the humans. Elena's behavior didn't bother Rebekah as it showed how free she was. She despised that she needed to tone down her own personality when humans and other "_supernaturals_" were around. Her brothers let her do as she pleased within reason and between the boundaries of their own upbringing, which afforded strong women a lot more rights than the current times. This was mostly true because they were not raised in a Christian country, they believed in the old gods and nature. They lived at the North-East territories of the Continent when they were still human, and the atrocious beliefs, customs of the south and central didn't quite reached them at the time.

Rebekah heard Elena sigh in resignation as she and Kol started to tell her about the current state of history and rules of England. They would also need to come up with a very good cover story for Elena's accent and manner of speech as little mistakes when the young vampire got angry couldn't be helped. She was certain that the men at court would rattle Elena's feathers in the wrong way, thus her true personality showing itself when she snapped.

It was past noon when Elijah and Niklaus finally joined them. Both were trying to hide their frustration, anger, and disgust under a very neutral expression, but Elena saw through it. She had gotten very good at discerning different kinds of expressions since she met Stefan and Damon. Her turning only added to her abilities in this area. She was sure that the Originals would have been more careful if they'd have the slightest hint of this trait of hers.

Elijah was pleased at what he found in his study. They were obviously teaching Elena the different kinds of greetings that would be required at court depending on who she addressed. When he and Niklaus stepped in, Elena was showing Rebekah a very graceful deep curtsey. He was surprised that she perfected it so quickly as she was almost as good as his sister who had decades of perfecting her own.

They went over to the chairs that were moved from their original positions to the middle of the room in a sort of half circle leaving enough room in front of the fireplace to practice different kind of movements. He sat down beside Kol, Niklaus following his example.

"What do you think, brother?" Kol whispered so quietly that Elena wouldn't be able to hear them, while he saw Rebekah paying attention to their conversation, still not pausing in her teachings and instructions.

"It seems that she is a quick learner." Klaus stated both of their opinion.

"A very quick one." Kol elaborated further. "She had already mastered every greeting and presenting to the nobles. We are currently on how she should address the queen. We also had come up with a cover story."

Kol's amusement was clear at the words he had spoken. Elijah could imagine what the three of them decided upon. He has never let his gaze falter from Elena's form as she acted as if Rebekah was the queen.

"Very good." Rebekah praised her pupil. She'd have never imagined that Elena could learn so quickly and without objections. It seemed that the girl was even cleverer than she gave her credit for after yesterday. She realized that she needed to master these skills for her own good. It was also beneficial, that her disdain for most things not up to par with her lifestyle in the future could be explained away by Elijah's lie of her being his wife. Noble women often acted like that way towards anyone who wasn't on their level of standing. Elena's continuous sarcastic commentary on short sighted, narrow minded behavior at her learning of the customs they taught her was also a great source of fun.

Elijah motioned for his sister to stop. He waited for Elena to also turn her attention to him. When their eyes met, he saw the resignation and annoyance in her beautiful brown eyes. "I see you mastered quite a lot in our unfortunate absence."

Elena felt that Elijah tried to lift her sour mood in his own way and sauntered over to the oldest Original before sitting down in his lap. She laughed at the expression on their faces. Because Elijah didn't object quickly enough, Elena wound her arms around his neck and leaned close to his ear, her breath caressing the shell of it.

"Thank you. Although, I find the people who came up with these insane rules should have been locked up for their pathological idiocy."

Elijah couldn't help but laugh at her assessment. He was also pleased that as a show of defiance to the etiquettes she decided to seat herself in his lap. Additionally her first choice was him, not his brothers. This also left a pleasant feeling in his heart. As she tried to leave his lap, he placed his arms around her waist to stop her. He enjoyed the feel of her body in his arms too much to let her leave. He then mimicked her previous actions and leaned down to her ear.

"I have to confess that I quite agree with you on that one." Elijah breathed, before kissing the spot slightly under her ear. He felt her shiver in pleasure as he leaned back in his seat, her dilated eyes pleasing him as he smiled at her.

Rebekah found the whole exchange very funny. Elijah didn't let Elena get to him with her brazen actions. Instead, he turned the tables on her. She was aware of her brothers' plan on seducing Elena, and found Nik's and Kol's jealousy just as entertaining.

She told Elena about his brothers' intentions that morning while she helped her get dressed. She had revealed their little plan because she wanted to see her brothers sweat for once. They got their ways with the women who caught their attention too easily. She was very surprised when Elena asked if she would torture her if her brothers started to competing too intensely because of her, resulting in a feud between the siblings. From the way Elena spoke, Rebekah gathered that the other girl was aware of Elijah and Niklaus's history about Tatia.

Despite this, she told the girl to go along with the game. They made a deal that Elena would stop if Rebekah decided that it was too much. She knew that Elena would find a lover, because vampires were highly sexual creatures. Surprisingly, she wouldn't mind if the girl choose from her brothers, as opposed to someone who could become a very powerful enemy with Elena's aid. So Rebekah gave her blessing as long as it was purely fun and deeper emotions didn't get involved.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Disclaimer_**_: I own none of the character of TVD._

A huge thank you goes to everyone who read, reviewed, followed and favorited this story. I'm over the Moon that so many of you like what I came up with in my delusional fantasies.

_As always a Special Thanks goes to_ _**Angel of Darkness Forever**__ for helping me tiding up the chapter._

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Elena throw open the door of her room with a little more force that was necessary, the loud bang of the wood meeting with the stone wall making her feel slightly better. She was in a very irritated mood. It has been two weeks since she started to live with the Originals and they were driving her nuts. Although, she would be the first to agree that she aggravated them too.

Elena sat down in one of the high backed chairs in front of the lit fireplace, gazing into the orange and red flames as she thought about her predicament.

Rebekah made sure that Elena was aware of the male Originals' plan of seducing her. But, Elena never thought that they wouldn't let her have a minute when one of them wouldn't bother her. And to add to her irritation, their sources finally found out what happened to Katherine and the parameters of the spell her _'friend'_ cast on her. Elena very much hoped that Damon was giving Bonnie hell for what she had done.

Apparently, the spell was designed in a way of protection/punishment for individuals that pissed witches off too much. They would send you back in time for 25 years to chill out a little than the spell would automatically take you back when and where you were taken from with plus/minus a day difference. Elena couldn't wrap her mind about what was the sense in all this. She sure as hell was going to rip into Bonnie when she got her hands on her.

And she didn't even get to the confusing part. As per usual, doppelgangers weren't in the same category as everyone else, _no why would they be_. If Elena understood correctly what they were told, then '_Magic_' itself took away Kathrine from this timeline into some coma world and when Elena was sent back into her proper place Katherine would magically reappear with the exact memories and experiences of the Katherine she knew. That tidbit made even less sense to Elena, to be disappearing then reappearing with a set of memories Katherine had while the people she interacted with didn't, was more than mindboggling. But, magic has all the answers, if Katherine contacts the people from the 25 years she was away, they will get the set of memories that they need; like they were compelled to forget everything until you were directly speaking with them.

Elena gripped the wood of the arm of the chair so tightly that it splintered under the pressure. Looking down on what she did to the furniture, she let go of the wooden debris, then leant back and tried to take a few deep breaths to calm herself.

When she asked the warlocks and witches of what would happen to the people Klaus killed as retaliation because of Katherine's escape? Or to the people Katherine killed in her first years as a vampire they had simply told her, that they would die one way or another the same time they were killed in Elena's timeline. The irritating lot said these things like they were normal. This made Elena beyond angry. Furthermore, they told her that changes would happen in only those experiences and memories that she directly interacted and affected. For example, if she told about historical facts to someone _that someone_ could change things in the light of things she revealed and history would be altered. But, time couldn't be altered beyond a certain degree because doppelgangers were a part of _the balance_, so the very big things would happen no matter what. Only the parameters would change a little. This was equal part calming and frustrating for the brunette, because according to them she would be born no matter what and would turn Klaus into a hybrid, _no matter what_.

The smug grin on Klaus's face when this last tidbit was revealed rubbed Elena in a very wrong way. Plus, the psychotic half breed dared to try playing nice after he noticed the glare Elena leveled him with, promising that he would never let her permanently die because of her noble donation in making his dreams come into reality. _The nerve of him._

Elena was sure that if she was still human her blood pressure would be sky high. Elijah and Kol didn't help in the "_conference_" either. Kol joked about letting her decide, when the time came, of which one of them may turn her into a vampire again. The only positive thoughts that came with their plotting were the mental images as Klaus realized that he wouldn't be able to create more hybrids. Actually, this didn't sound so bad as far as Elena was concerned.

There was a soft knock on her still open door so Elena turned into that direction. She saw Rebekah standing in the doorway patiently waiting for Elena to invite her into her room. Elena sighed again then nodded to the blond, who gracefully came closer and sat herself in the other chair beside Elena's.

"I know you are frustrated." Rebekah started in a tone which obviously intended to sooth and calm her. "But think carefully on what the servants of nature revealed to us today."

Elena was still miffed but her curiosity was piqued by what and how Rebekah said things. She gave the blond Original a thoughtful look, silently asking her with her eyes to continue.

"They said you cannot change the main aspects of the future, the catch is what they consider main." Rebekah explained, she could sense Elena's growing curiosity and confusion and wanted to ease it; as in the last weeks she had come to like the baby vampire very much. Elena was an endless well of entertainment and good company.

"You already changed a lot by being in our mere presence. You can be sure that spending two and a half decades in our company will have grave impact on how we will approach you in the future." Rebekah saw that she got through to the stubborn girl. She could practically see Elena contemplating her words as she frowned in confusion.

Rebekah slowly got up from her chair and stepped to Elena's side as the younger woman looked up into her blue eyes. Rebekah bent down slightly and pressed a gentle kiss to Elena's forehead, in a similar fashion as Elijah kissed her when he wanted to give her comfort and reassurance.

Elena watched Rebekah leave after the strange display of affection. She would have never imagined the blond was so caring at one point in time. This also brought up the thought, what could have happened to her to change her into the bitter, temperamental bitch Elena met in Mystic Falls. She was sure that Rebekah's emotions weren't switched off the whole time she interacted with her, yet the change in character between past and future selves of the blond was astounding.

Elena also realized in the time she spent here that completely turning off your emotions was an utter impossibility. They only got duller and made you concentrate more clearly on certain things. The predator inside of every vampire was much closer to the surface in this state, so you acted more in tune with that side of yourself.

Elena shrugged, deciding that she should concentrate on what Rebekah so helpfully told her, not lamenting on the intricacies of vampire life.

If Rebekah was correct-and what she said sounded damn logical. Plus it agreed with her directly impacting the happenings clause of the spell-then everything happening to her future self depended on what kind of relationship she could build with the Originals.

Elena completely relaxed back into the armchair, the warmth from the fire made her more comfortable. First things first, she needed to analyze what she had learnt about the Originals in the past as they were very different from their future counterparts.

It was more than obvious that the vampire servants in their castle feared and respected them in equal measures. The humans on the other hand, though they were afraid too, were grateful for the opportunity to live and work under their roof. Elena asked the human maids why were they so terribly happy for being here, they said because they lived better and earned more than in any other noble household in England. She also found out that the two dozen humans who were the blood donors of the Originals were treated like favorite pets and their job description covered being their "lovers" too as bloodlust and lust come hand-in-hand for most vampires. She had heard two such girls talking about if their future husbands would be as magnificent lovers as the Originals or not. Elena's eavesdropping was interrupted by Klaus, who had seen the frown on her face and decided to reassure her that they always paid exceptional dowries for the girls who wanted to marry after being their thralls. Elena didn't enlighten Klaus that she wasn't interested in who they fucked. Although, she was envious that they found such convenient means for taking care of their needs; as Elena got more sexually frustrated with every day.

A light frown graced Elena's features as she thought about Klaus's behavior towards her. Just like Rebekah warned her, Klaus also upped the charm when in Elena's company. It was very disturbing that Elena had to realize Klaus's future attempts of seducing Caroline was nothing compared to what he tried to sell her now. Though, she'd bet every cent in her bank accounts that Caroline wouldn't be drawn to the predator-charmer cocktail. Klaus tried to coax her to reveal her secrets very subtly while she spoke about the future. She was sure that a less paranoid person would have already spilled everything while directly telling very little. It was frightening how much information all of the Originals could piece together from little snippets or just bare hints.

Though, Elena could imagine herself growing fond of this version of the psychopathic hybrid, there was no way in hell she could stomach any kind of romantic relationship with him. She only toyed with the thought for a second of having sex with Klaus when she imagined Bonnie, Caroline, Damon and Stefan's expressions of that kind of news.

Still, she needed Klaus's cooperation if she wanted to change her life. Despite the switch, Elena couldn't help but find the possibility of saving Jeremy, Jenna, and John's lives something she wanted very much. She was aware that Klaus had no tolerance for betrayal or what he perceived something as such; the proof being that he stashed his siblings in coffins for years until he felt himself capable of forgiving them. But, Elena was sure that he didn't forget a single thing and his forgiveness wasn't complete. At the back of his mind, he expected further disappointments and was ready to punish them again. Just like his siblings were second guessing his actions and motives. Though, Elena had to give it to them that their relationship appeared much healthier, than she had ever witnessed in the future.

So the best way of working with him was if she honestly told him that she wasn't capable of more than vary alliance at the moment, because of what his future self did to her. Elena hoped that this would work, instead of earning herself a death warrant or a prison cell in the dungeons.

Elena knew that whatever she told one sibling, she had to be the one to share information with the others too, because the siblings were prone to edit what they said even to one another. She came to the conclusion that she would tell the reasons behind her behavior towards Klaus to the man himself privately first, as he was much more agreeable when discussing sensitive or embarrassing things privately than in some public setting. Then she'd seek out his siblings and share the information before Klaus could distort it in his anger.

Happy with the solution regarding Klaus, Elena's thoughts turned towards the youngest Original brother. Elena had to admit that Kol surprised her even more than his half-brother, because while Klaus treated her far better than ever before, Kol took the things to a whole different level. After the first night when he stabbed her with a dagger for her sass, she assumed that he would be the same psychopath who she had to deal with in the future. But she had to reassess her assumptions as she spent most of her time with Kol and Rebekah as they taught her the ways of the era she got stuck in.

Elena's nerves around Kol had been decreasing drastically over the last week. She discovered that Kol was forceful and impatient. He saw no point in dancing around things if he wanted them, so he was the one who openly flirted with and tried to seduce Elena. Actually, Elena enjoyed her lessons with the two youngest Originals. They were witty and funny and very quickly caught onto the sarcasm that Elena liked to use since she turned off her emotions. They also adapted fairly well to the way she spoke or '_Liked to express herself._' as they put it.

Elena didn't really see any problems coming from Kol as long as she stayed fairly honest with him and didn't commit one of five categories of mistakes as he explained to her that he killed for five reasons: betrayal, hunting, feeding, boredom and certain level of insolence. The problem was that she had orchestrated his death by her brother's hands, and was certain that qualified into at least one of the previously mentioned categories.

It bothered Elena that she wasn't as indifferent to Kol as she thought that she should be. She believed that the switch would completely block every feeling, but Rebekah told her that was an impossibility. She would still experience emotions. Her humanity was just duller while she was more in tune with the predator within her. Vampires were the ultimate predators, who had their emotions focused on self-interest, self-gratification. Elena suspected as much after she began to analyze the Salvatores' and Isobel's behavior when they were without their humanity. Vampires simply had different priorities, morals, and ethics than humans.

Elena realized a lot of things in the short time she spent with the Originals. Doubtlessly, she would have never grasped these details while staying human. She was so quick to lecture Damon for his behavior, judging from her assumed moral high ground while she hadn't got a clue about vampires' true natures. She hadn't felt guilt for eating when she was human; so why should she feel guilt about having a healthy diet as a vampire?

Elena shrugged a little. She had, once again, gotten sidetracked. This happened a lot since she had turned, her mind wandering between a lot of seemingly random, different topics. It was truly fascinating how much quicker a vampire could think and process things than humans.

Back to Kol, she discerned that the sooner she confessed her '_sins_' to Kol the better her chances of retaining his favor. Again, she wanted to have the easygoing relationship they began to develop.

"What troubles you so, dearest Elena?" The all too familiar deep, smooth lilt beside her ear startled Elena, she quickly brought her feet on the ground and rose.

Before her stood the person she mused about, his head tilted to the side and his trademark smirk gracing his lips. Elena knew that taking on an impassive face would be for naught as Kol had already seen her expression. He would question her until she told him enough to sate his curiosity for the time being.

Kol went to the armchair that Elena occupied only moments ago, before he seated himself, motioning Elena to come closer to him. Elena moved to stand directly before the Original, her skirts brushing his legs.

"I imagine what the witches shared with us do not make you particularly happy. Did you hope that they would find a way to send you back to your time?" Kol asked as he locked his intense gaze into the woman's standing before him. He reached out with his right hand bringing Elena's left into his grasp, holding onto it gently.

Elena's brown eyes flashed briefly and on Kol's lips formed what could be seen as a shadow of a smile. It wasn't one of his smirks or fake smiles, but a true one. "I cannot envision how hard it is for you to end up in a place so different from your own, much less being dependent on people who you obviously held little affection for. Until you do anything foolish I see no reason why we cannot become friends."

The words meant to reassure her only cemented that Elena would need to be cautious. She already had to watch her words, making sure she didn't reveal too much, as whatever carelessness she uttered could bite her in the ass spectacularly. But she couldn't keep her past with their future selves a secret as the vervain was already out of her system and they could lose their patience anytime. She wasn't sure how much the spell protected her from being compelled to spill her every secret, she simply didn't want to test it at all.

"I don't want to end up six foot under the ground for what I think and my past." Elena uttered.

"I invite you to speak freely for this night." Kol said, then brought Elena's hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, sending shivers down Elena's spine, as he continued to speak, his stare unbreakable. "I promise you that whatever you reveal to me tonight it will not leave the confines of your room and you will not face any kind of retaliation because of them. No matter how severe they might be."

Elena's mouth opened in shock as she found no words. If one thing she learned about the Originals of the past that they _always_ kept their promises, thought they were very crafty with their wording. But this one was pretty straight forward. She pondered her options for a few more seconds before deciding to speak with blunt honesty.

"I don't know how to behave around you, what it is safe to reveal to you. But most importantly I can't separate what happened in my past from the here and now. Your and your siblings' attitude towards me is disturbing to say the least."

Kol listened with rapt attention, his eyes held a solemn glint that Elena was not familiar with; a sort of glint that told Elena that she was a mere child compared to her present company.

"Please continue, dearest." Kol encouraged her with a soothing tone she had never heard using him.

"I didn't have good experiences with any of you." Elena continued with a determined tilt to her chin that Kol found quite endearing. Though, he was absolutely certain that he would hear things that wouldn't bode well for her if he hadn't made a vow to not harm her.

"The shortest way of putting my previous relationship with you," Elena's voice got incredibly soft; it was barely audible to even the Original's keen hearing. "I first met Elijah who wanted to kidnap me, to use me as a lure to Klaus. I was nothing more than a tool in his eyes to achieve his goals. He threatened my family and friends then offered me a deal he knew I wouldn't refuse. So he gained himself a willing weapon."

Kol couldn't say that he was surprised; his eldest brother could be quite ruthless when he wanted to be. It was a very well-kept secret of the Original family that it was not Mikael or Niklaus who were the ones who you should be most cautious about, but Elijah. The witch Ayana once said "_If the world was to burn, the eldest of your sons, Esther, would not care in the least so long as his family and domain lived peacefully in the ashes._" This one sentence told nothing but the truth about his brother.

Elena waited for Kol to come back from his thoughts. "Klaus terrorized every single one of the people who mattered to me then killed my aunt and me in the sacrifice while indirectly causing the death of my biological parents. Later, as he found out I was alive he blackmailed me while dangling my only living family over my head. Rebekah hated me until we had a common goal and made a deal to help each other for the time. And you…"

Kol squeezed her hand, trying to make her continue. Kol regarded her contemplatively, his gaze without judgment. A moment had passed as Elena formulated how to tell Kol what happened to him.

"As a means to an end, you compelled my sire to kill my brother. When we locked him up, you came in person to finish the job." Elena had an indifferent mask on her face, she was sure that promise or not, there was a really big chance she wouldn't survive the next five minutes. "I drenched you in vervain while my brother staked you."

Kol didn't understand the massive amount of fear that was coming from the girl. A stake to the heart would do nothing against him beside incapacitating him for a while.

Sensing his confusion, Elena reluctantly elaborated. "He thrust a _white oak_ stake into your heart."

Kol stiffened at the mention of the white oak. His grip hardened on Elena's hands. It was hard to control the rage that came with the knowledge that this baby vampire and her human brother managed to kill him. He saw the resignation, the acceptance of her death in her eyes. She expected him to kill her for this revelation. True, his first instinct was to torture and kill her, but he gave his word and would held true to it. It also disconcerted him, that she was so sure of what his actions would be.

Kol let out a sigh, then gentled his grip on her hand before pulling her into his lap, enveloping her in his arms. "I understand the need to ensure the survival of your family, no matter what you need to do to achieve that goal."

Elena was stunned by how rationally Kol took the news. But him giving her comfort was beyond anything that she imagined the temperamental Original would do. This was mind-blowing. As Kol started to caress her hair while whispering to her in a soothing voice made Elena relax into his arms.

"I do not know what led to the circumstances of our actions, but I will not begrudge you for something that will not happen for centuries to come, if at all." Kol continued his speech and slightly tightened his grip in her hair to make sure that she knew how serious he was about his next words. "However, you cross me here, my dearest Elena, and I will show no mercy."

Kol made Elena look into his unnerving gaze by tugging on her long tresses forcefully. Seeing the understanding and acceptance in the girl's eyes, he released his tight hold and resumed his gentle, comforting motions in her hair.

"Still, I commend your honesty and for that reason we will not speak of this further." Kol said decisively, the authority in his tone unmistakable. "My treatment of you will not change because of this. I vow that you have my trust. Unless you betray that trust, you have nothing to fear from me."

Elena nodded her head slightly, relieved that Kol seemed to be more considerate because of her honesty. It appeared that she gained more of Kol's respect and trust by telling him the truth. She only hoped that his siblings' reactions would be something similar, as she really came to like Kol and Rebekah. While she preferred to not making decisions about Elijah and Klaus.

Elena was slowly lulled into sleep in the youngest brother's embrace, while feeling safe in a way that she had never experienced since her one night of bliss with her Sire.

Kol watched as the young girl in his arms fallen asleep. Her confession surprised him, and explained a lot about her behavior towards them. He'd be the first to concede that they were capable a lot of things. When you were a more than 500 years old vampire there was very little you hadn't experienced.

As Elena snuggled even deeper in his chest, she was so painfully beautiful in her vulnerability that Kol couldn't think about anything else but of how much he desired her. He gently ran his right hand through her long tresses while embracing her closer by her tiny waist with his left arm as he looked into the fire in the ornate fireplace. The only thing that disturbed him of what she told him that a human and, by all right, a baby vampire was able to overpower him so easily. This showed how resourceful and cunning she was capable of being when she was desperate. Although, it was good to know that her values must be very similar to theirs. Additionally, she had no one here ergo she had no reason to turn against them if they didn't push her away.

Kol turned his head slightly and rested his cheek on the crown of her fragrant hair, inhaling her intoxicating scent deeply into his lungs. He was a little frustrated that his and his brothers' seductions had next to no effect on Elena. He couldn't stop thinking about what she would look like when she was loved well. He pictured her in so many ways in his bed. The good chase turned him on immensely as this had not happened to them before; no vampire, human or witch had ever resisted them for this long. Though they discovered two days ago that their darling baby sister ratted them out to Elena at the beginning. They were more than annoyed with Rebekah for this, but it wasn't something that hadn't happened before and at other times it hadn't meant much of an obstacle. It added three or two days more work at the top.

But now, he knew that Elena wasn't able to ignore their advances because they were doing something wrong. Simply, Elena had experiences with them that were hard to counter. How do you seduce a woman without compulsion, when your future self tried to kill her brother whose eventual murder led to her abandoning her humanity? Add to that that vampires by their very nature were a vindictive species who forget and forgive hardly with their humanity intact.

Though, it was a comforting thought that he had better chances than Nik. His half-brother had better chances of escaping their father with them a foot barely apart, drugged with vervain than getting Elena. He was actually astonished that the girl didn't try to snap Nik's neck or inflicting some serious pain on him when his brother questioned her about her family. She just evaded to answer any inquiries about her family beside what she shared with them about Katerina killing her brother.

What interested him was her standing concerning Elijah. From the very beginning it was obvious that she held the least amount of contempt towards his eldest brother. Later, Kol made the observation that Elena respected his eldest brother. And initially, she felt most comfortable around him. Though, Rebekah quickly took that position from their brother. With his new knowledge, Kol deduced that Elena and Elijah had to have a fairly complicated relationship in her time. That she held him in high regard despite everything he must have committed against her spoke louder than any word.

Kol closed his eyes for a moment, before deciding that he should put Elena into her bed. He gently maneuvered her body so he could pick her up without disturbing her sleep. He placed her on her comforter contemplating if he should help her out of her dress before tucking her in. Kol discarded the idea as it would most likely set him back with the progress he had with the girl tonight. She trusted him with herself for the night and strangely he didn't wish to abuse that trust, so he simply covered her with a spare duvet from the chest at the foot of her bed. But he couldn't help himself and discarded his outer robes and shoes then climbed under the duvet with a devilish smirk on his face. Because what kind of a gentleman would he be if he left her alone when she had fallen asleep in his arms?


	7. Chapter 7

**_Disclaimer_**_: I own none of the character of TVD._

_Okay guys, first off, I wanted to thank everyone who read, followed, favorited and especially those who took the time to leave a review._

_As always, special thanks to __**Angel of Darkness Forever**__._

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**Chapter 6**

Elijah was still in a very good mood despite the tediousness of his day. There were a lot of things that needed his attention before they were ready to depart to the Royal Court in the Palace of Placentia for at least two months; which should have put him in foul spirits, but that was not the case. Elijah leaned back into his high-backed leather chair while resting his arms on the intricate wooden armrests, a small smile gracing his normally impassive features.

_**-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_That morning, they were all awakened by Elena's scream and rushed immediately to her room. He could have never come up with the scenario that treated Rebekah, Niklaus and himself. Elena broke one of the less ornate wooden chairs to pieces and had been aiming them at Kol with quite an accuracy while berating him in a very cross tone._

"_You perverted psycho." Elena yelled before chucking another piece of wood at Kol like it was a throwing knife. "What the hell gave you the idea to sleep in my bed?"_

_Kol barely avoided a piece embedding in his chest where his heart lay. His ears were damaged enough by Elena's shrieking when he was awakened from a fabulous dream. In retrospect, he shouldn't have teased her further when he had seen the fury in her eyes, but she looked as every man's dream._

"_I just wanted to make sure that nothing disturbed your sleep, my dearest Lady Elena." Kol said, smirk firmly on his face. "You were so peaceful in my arms…"_

_Before Kol could finish his sentence, Elena had thrown a heavy silver goblet in the direction of his head. Fortunately he managed to take cover in time behind one of the two ornate armchairs in front of the fireplace. As he didn't hear other objects heading where he was, he peeked out and saw Elena leveling a murdering gaze towards her doors. So he also turned to investigate what saved him for the moment. He saw his siblings crowding in the entrance, all of them trying to keep in their laughter but the huge smiles on Nik's and Rebekah's faces indicated that they barely held it in. While Elijah was a little more restrained his eyes and the small smile tugging at the corner of his lips bellied his amusement._

_**-o-o-o-o-o-**_

It troubled Elijah how quickly Elena became part of their life in a way, that none managed in their long existence. This morning was a further proof of that. While his youngest brother enjoyed playing and causing a lot of chaos in the name of his entertainment, Kol had always sadistically killed those who stepped over a line in the heat of the moment after they served their purposes. But Elena got away with it. Kol only mock pouted that she hadn't appreciated his efforts by explaining to her that he could have easily rid her of her attire, without her notice, yet he let her keep her modesty.

Elijah opened his eyes and straightened his posture in the chair when he sensed Niklaus and a few humans, who didn't belong to their household, nearing his study. Only a few seconds later he heard the soft knocking on his door.

"Enter." Elijah called out loud enough for the humans to also hear him.

First entered his brother closely followed by two humans who wore their crest and the uniforms of the guard of their Venetian Villa and three other men, each around their early forties. Niklaus came to his side behind his massive desk, while the humans bowed to him.

"Your Grace." They said in greeting waiting for his permission to come closer to where he sat.

"Gentlemen." Elijah responded with an additional little elegant wave of his right hand to indicate that they could approach. He was pleased that they arrived this fast. He motioned first to his own men to place the relatively large sized, rosewood chest with intricate carvings on his desk. The two stepped forward, following his silent orders then left after another bow to him and his brother.

Elijah turned his attention to the three remaining humans. They were unnerved by his intense gaze but were able to mask their unease pretty well.

"Please." Elijah again lifted his hand, managing to convey his wish for them to start what they had been ordered here for.

The three exchanged a hesitant look between them, but still hurried to comply as they put down the two chests they were carrying on the chairs in front of Elijah's desk. Then, they opened them to take out their contents and display it to him.

Elijah and Klaus waited patiently for them to finish, already silently perusing the items before them on the black velvet they draped on a sizeable portion of his desk. Both vampires enjoyed how they unnerved the men before them to a certain degree, but quickly shifted their complete attention to the display of exquisite jewelry before them. These three men were the best jewelers in all of England. Mr. James and Mr. Jonathan Springer were brothers, renowned for their work of beautiful headdresses. While Mr. Robert Fischer was famous for his necklaces and earrings. These jewels on his desk were worth a bigger fortune so Elijah needed to send one of the vampires in their service to persuade these men to bring him fifteen of each of their best pieces of all kind of jewelry they had.

The humans were fidgeting while the Duke of Somerset and his younger brother the Duke of Marlborough examined and discussed which pieces they wanted to purchase. James Springer was very uncomfortable since they left their home in London with their most expensive and prized master pieces to come here. When they met at the carriage with Master Fischer, his anxiety shot over the roof. This family was one you not wanted to cross so you did everything that they demanded of you for your own good. Each member of the family held their own place in the peerage, even the youngest one who on top of all this was a woman. As a jeweler to the highest standing of Lords of the kingdom, James heard a lot of rumors and they said that they even held titles in most European countries. They also told that they were all very dangerous, even more so than the King himself. Now, he could understand why they said all of these things by observing the Dukes.

While his brother was immersed in his own worries, Jonathan Springer was more interested in why they were invited here so hastily when in his experience in dealing with this family they preferred to summon him to their London house while they were in town. He knew that the brothers gave the jewelry they purchased to their sister most of the time, and occasionally their mistresses who they were exceptionally pleased with. The Baroness Braye favored to design her own jewelry, later summoning a master of the field to make it reality for her. It was very rare that she bought a premade piece.

The door banged open and Kol stormed into the room without paying any attention to what was taking place. He placed his hands on his brother's desk and leaned over it as if he were trying to intimidate him.

"I give up." Kol almost growled into Elijah's unfazed expression. "There is no way, that you get out of explaining to her what it will entail of being the Duchess. Rebekah and I had already had the pleasure of telling her about all about the etiquette in high society." Kol's every word was dripping with sarcasm. "She is already irritated enough and it is in our best interest if she has time to calm down before we set out to court."

Elijah saw how annoyed his baby brother was and taking into account his angry outburst, he could only deduce that Elena was fed up with the customs and rules of their time. He was only curious about what his siblings told her that resulted in Kol coming to him declaring that his presence was necessary for Elena's education.

Klaus tilted his head to the side with an amused smile on his face. Before he could open his mouth to ask what happened, Kol leveled him with a murderous glare that would have sent anyone else, beside his siblings, running or begging for their lives.

"We told her about coverture." Kol stated darkly. "Apparently, that is a law that had been out of the system for quite a while from her reaction when we described the meaning of it."

Mr. Fischer was quite surprised by the behavior of the young Marquess of Exeter. He knew him for three years now, and he had never seen him the state he was in currently; as when he witnessed him being upset with someone he killed or ruined the one accountable for his irritation quite swiftly with only a cold delight visible on his face. What he said was very interesting, because it implied that there was a new addition to the family by marriage. He was a smart man, easily putting together that they were here because this new addition was the wife of one of the elder brothers; and her husband decided to generously gift her with a collection of jewels worthy of a queen. This also meant, that most likely they would buy not only one or two pieces, which made him a very happy man.

"Do you not think that you are exaggerating?" Elijah asked his brother in as calm a tone as possible. Although, he had a suspicion that in this case, Kol did not amplified things. The first time they met with the practice of this particular law Rebekah was also quite upset, and was only able to reign in her reaction because as a sister to them, it hadn't applied to her.

"Oh believe me, I wish that was the case." Kol answered sullenly, for the first time his eyes set upon his brother's desk. His eyes dilated a little in surprise before lifting his gaze again to his elder brothers. "You should give her the selected pieces before we start our lessons on the rights and duties of a woman of her standing."

Kol gave a curt nod to his brothers in farewell, heading towards the door he added a few more words. "And definitely choose the ruby and pearl necklace on the left side."

Klaus only shook his head in amusement as they saw Kol closing the door behind himself.

After their younger brother's display, Elijah and Klaus quickly decided on what they would purchase. Their selection consisted of eleven necklaces with the matching pair of earrings made of diamonds, rubies, topazes, emeralds, sapphires, spinels, and pearls. They also selected five headdresses that could be paired well with the necklaces. Plus three brooches: two triangular made of diamonds and the other sapphires, one circular made of rare black pearls; and five ruby, diamond, topaz, emerald, and pearl bracelets.

The three humans were astounded by the sheer amount the brothers decided to buy, even more so when the Duke of Marlborough left only to come back a few minutes later with guards carrying their money in two wooden chests. They saw the Duke of Somerset stand from his chair and picking up the most exquisite necklace of the collection a diamond and sapphire piece, then he walked around his desk.

"You were most helpful, gentlemen." Elijah said his goodbyes in a deep, even voice while briefly tilting his head in acknowledgement. "My guards will escort you back to your respective residences."

Klaus also tilted his head minutely before going after his brother, both exiting the room leaving behind the two guards to help the jewelers.

_**-o-o-o-o-o-**_

Elijah entered the library with Niklaus on his heels because his siblings and Elena were in there in most cases. He came to an abrupt halt a few meters into the room as he took in every detail of the scene playing out on the divan.

One of their most delicious thralls, both esthetical and nourishment vise, a young Greek man named Nicodemus, was sitting between with his torso turned towards Elena and his back to Rebekah. It seemed that his younger siblings decided to appease Elena with a snack and the magnified and highly intimate experience of sharing a meal between two vampires. The young man between them moaned in pleasure as the women fed on him. It was obvious that the pain from Elena's untutored bite on his neck, and Rebekah's bite on his shoulder, which was intended to cause your victim unimaginable pleasure to most of humankind, was making Nicodemus delirious with pleasure.

The decadent display of feeding made the male vampires in the room painfully aware of their own lust for Elena again. Elijah was pleased that Rebekah had the good sense of restraining Nicodemus's hands in one of her own behind the man's back. Despite, how much Elijah himself enjoyed the man's company; he would have torn into him with the intent of torture if he had managed to touch Elena.

The perfume of fresh blood, mingled with the traces of Elena's arousal only made the situation even more uncomfortable for the male Originals. None of them were used to resisting temptation well. They seduced and took whoever they wanted. And for their immense annoyance, Elena wasn't letting any of them near her in that capacity. When they flirted with her, she flirted back, when they teased her, she teased back. But that was the extent of things. Just this morning, Kol confirmed to them that they had a lot of work if they truly wanted to bed Elena. He didn't elaborated, because he made a promise to Elena that he wouldn't give away what she revealed to him only last night. Though, it was clear that their lack of success stemmed from Elena's experiences with their future counterparts.

Elijah thought bitterly on, as how did you counteract something when you had no idea what you needed to do damage control about? Further complication was in their formerly simple plan of them sampling the magnificent creature feeding on the divan, that the willful spitfire of a girl started to grow on Elijah, Kol and Rebekah.

Finally the girls released the boy, after they tasted his completion in his blood. The Originals had their attention on Elena's face as she leaned back into the cushions. They saw the dark veins under her eyes disappearing, and her little pink tongue swept out over her lips tracking some errant drops of blood.

Elena sighed in contentment before opening her eyes. "That was extremely yummy." She continued to murmur under her nose. "Now, I understand why Damon was such a Don Juan."

Rebekah was only too happy, that with this little peace offering, she managed to calm down Elena from her tantrum. It also didn't hurt seeing her brothers so uncomfortable. Oh, they all had on their best masks, but Rebekah saw trough every one of them easily. Seriously, this was damn funny. Her smile only grew when she heard what Elena was telling her two older brothers.

"It wasn't nice of you to leave Rebekah and Kol dealing alone with the backlash of explaining to me the meaning of coverture." Elena said in a saccharine sweet tone and her last word was dripping from her disgust. She looked first at Klaus, whose only response was an unrepentant mock bow. Then she turned her gaze on Elijah, who had the good grace of looking a little sympathetic.

Elijah swept through the room to place himself in one of the armchairs facing the place where the women sat. He elegantly signaled to Kol that he should call someone to tend to the unconscious Nicodemus. While they all waited for one of the vampire servants to arrive and collect what Elena dubbed as '_comfort food'_, Klaus sat down in the remaining chair beside Kol.

"Lovely, you need to understand that we do not know what changes in history concerning social hierarchy and customs." Elijah gazed deep into Elena's eyes, while implying with his tone, eyes and words that they'd be better equipped of dealing with this kind of delicate things, if Elena would share her knowledge more freely.

"Nice try, Elijah." Elena sent a teasing smile his way. "I told you enough, you were around me enough to deduce that I will react badly to this kind of information. You were perfectly aware, that I will flip out when you tell me about this atrocity."

"Flip out?" This time it was Klaus, who chimed in for elaboration on the phrase the Originals weren't familiar with.

The occupants of the room quickly developed a system after Elena's first full day in the past. If one party didn't understood a word or phrase they'd repeat only the unknown bit with a questioning tone and the meaning would be explained the shortest way possible.

"Freak out, lose one's temper, lose one's composure, unhinge." Elena looked questioningly at Klaus, silently asking if he got the meaning so they could go on with their previous topic. At Klaus's nod, Elena turned back her penetrating gaze to Elijah.

"We have 12 days before leaving for that Royal pa…" Elena cut off the less than favorable adjective she wanted to string with the Royal Palace together at Rebekah's glare which she felt directed in her way. "the Royal Court. Since day two, you drilled rules, etiquette and what not into me 24/7. I'd also like to point out that these rules, _which I must follow_ _to the letter._" At this point, Elena made an admirable imitation of Kol's voice. "In most cases, I fundamentally disagree with, find distasteful or idiotic in astronomical proportions."

Elena huffed and leaned forward in her seat, while looking around the room to meet each of the Originals' gazes separately to better convey her meaning.

"Additionally, I need to give an Oscar worthy performance for_ two months_." Elena finished her monologue in an aggravated voice. The calmness she gained from feeding vanished like it wasn't there in the first place.

"Oscar worthy?" "24/7?"

The questions came so rapidly and simultaneously, that Elena wouldn't be able to tell who asked them first or who asked which one because she heard all of their voices.

With a tired sigh escaping from between Elena's lips, she thought about the best way to explain the two terms without adding words that would require an explanation too. At the end, she decided to tackle the easier first.

"24/7 means every hour of every day of the week." Elena pondered for a few more seconds before she continued. "Oscar worthy is a little more complicated. Do you go to theaters?"

Not understanding where Elena wanted to go with this, Klaus answered her none the less, as they knew from experience that they would gain a better understanding in the end. "Yes, we saw one or two over the years."

"Okay, in theaters you see actors playing different roles." Elena had a faraway look in her eyes and a small smile on her face. "There is something called a film or movie in the future. This movie is a play with a lot of actors and actresses. It is recorded so…"

Elena saw the confused expressions on all the faces around her. This wasn't helping, then suddenly an idea occurred to her. She got up from her place and vanished from the library.

Kol looked around at his siblings to see that his confusion was shared with them. He was also a little irritated that Elena just got up and left them in the middle of an explanation. He saw the frown gracing Nik's face and Elijah's too impassive features. This indicated that he also wasn't alone in his assessment that a reminder was in due for Elena about conducting herself respectfully in their company. They granted her too much leeway. His thoughts on possible punishments were halted when Elena returned with a small metal object in her hands.

"Okay, you should come closer so you will see the screen." Elena told, while making her way back to the divan beside Rebekah, scooting closer to her so one additional person could sit down.

Still confused and a little annoyed the three males gathered around the furniture, Kol was sitting down on Elena's other side, while Elijah and Klaus got behind them to be able to see the little strange object in Elena's hand. There was a small painting on it, though it had an extraordinary quality.

"You will hear sound too." Elena warned them before she hit play on her iPhone. She could barely contain her giggles as all of the Originals flinched almost imperceptibly as the music started to play while Robert Downey Jr. started to speak.

The Originals all watched completely enraptured this movie.

Elijah silently agreed with Elena that this would have been a very hard experience to describe.

After an additional 10 minutes, Elena stopped Iron Man 3 and switched the phone off. She found it hilarious that aside from Elijah, all of them were pouting like children.

"Sorry, I promise you that you can watch it another night." Elena said, a smile gracing her lips. "I will try to explain a few terms before you watch to understand the references in it. But back to our…"

"This is what a play looks like in your time?" Rebekah asked excitedly. The thought that humans could capture something like a play was an almost magical thought.

"We have actual theaters where you can watch plays the traditional way. But the film industry is a separate business." Elena found her earlier irritation evaporate at their reaction to something she thought about as an everyday thing.

"And an Oscar worthy performance?" Klaus prompted Elena to answer the original question.

"Yes, The Oscar is actually an annual award for achievements in different films. A committee of impartial judges chose from the films produced in the specific year the nominees for the different categories. The nominees are already a diminished few, from where the final choice is made. They award the best film, best director, best actor, actress in leading and supporting role, best visual effects and so on." Elena made a little break in her speech to let the Originals think through the information.

"So when you told us that you need to give an Oscar worthy performance at Court, you meant that you have to be playing your role so good that you would deserve this award." Klaus summarized with a mischievous glint visible in his eyes.

"Basically, yes." Elena smirked at how quickly they grasped the core of it. "As I have the exceedingly high expectations of the Original vampire family weighing down on my shoulders."

"We cannot have our reputation and good name tarnished, dearest Elena." Kol added with the appropriate amount of teasing. "You are certainly not so cruel that you would do that to us."

Rebekah chuckled lightly at Elena and Kol's humor. It was good, despite the afternoon's setbacks, that they were able to spend the early night in a light mood. She could see how much her brothers were enjoying themselves. And it was so long ago, that they were able to enjoy each other's company without fights. Since Elena came into their lives everything seemed so much brighter. The young vampire from the future brought a sort of fresh start with her, as Nik was no longer obsessed with his curse and his resentment for it. Because he had the actual knowledge that he would have what he wanted so much.

Just like his sister, Elijah was also silently observing and had mostly the same conclusions. Elena had a tremendous value to them. And not only for the fascinating things, she had so much information about secreted away in her mind. For the first time in decades, they were together and not fighting. Before the girl arrived, the atmosphere in the castle was already very tense between them. He was sure that the escape of Katerina would have had lasting effects on their relationship in a negative way without Elena's appearance. However, their ever developing fondness for her started to cause some worry in Elijah. They didn't need another Tatia either, as Kol and Rebekah had never even liked the originator of the Petrova doppelgangers. Elijah said in his mind for the hundredth time already that this woman was completely different from her predecessors.

* * *

**Coverture**: It was a law in a lot of countries in Europe for a long time. Basically it means, when a woman married, she no longer had legal rights or obligations separate from her husbands. The law considered them one person, and what do you think who that person was… For example: she couldn't own property or get an education without her husband's consent or sign any legal document.

_To my guest reviewers:_

_Jana: First, thank you for your continous support for all of my stories. You rock:) As for Kol, I would never kill him._

_Darkangelmi818: I know, not a pillow, still hope you were not disappointed. And thank you for giving it a chance:)_


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